Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

The Art of Perfume Delivery Reimagined With Library of Flowers

March 17th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Library of Flowers Field & Flowers Parfum Creme

Perfume in cream form.

How scent-sorily imaginative.

In all my years of perfume collecting/fragrance hoarding (seriously, I have a bottle of YSL Paris I’ve had since roughly 1991), I can’t remember ever encountering anything quite like this before.

It’s called Perfumed Creme by Library of Flowers, and instead of spraying a liquid or rubbing a solid on your skin, you work the mildly moisturizing creams into your skin like…mild moisturizers.

The fragrance is released slowly throughout the day, with the intensity based on the amount you use. Work a small dollop into your skin for a light aroma, or turn up the odiferous dial with another layer or two.

They come in a variety of scents, too. The one I’ve been wearing, Field and Flowers is a very light, clean and fresh fruity floral with apricot top notes, honey blossom middle notes wildflower bottom notes.

It smells like waking up to a beautiful sunlit spring morning… 🙂

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Ask MBB: How Do I Stop My Liquid Liner From Creasing?

March 17th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

When it comes to liquid liner, to quote the great Mary J. Blige, “No more drama.”

I don’t want any crazy business when I’m tending to my lash lines, and I wager you don’t either.

In today’s installment of Ask MBB, MAC Senior Artist Victor Cembellin, all around cool guy and the dude you wish was your BFF, has the cure for liquid liner madness — also known as creasing.

Products mentioned…

May your liquid liner always be like my tubby tabby’s fangs — razor sharp and feline fierce.

Meow ya later.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Got a question for Ask MBB? Let your fingers do the talking in the comments down below. 🙂

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 314

March 17th, 2014 by Karen 67 Comments

Happy St. Patrick's Day! — Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past seven years. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

Do you have a lucky charm?
No, but they are magically delicious, haha. Nope, I’ve never had a lucky charm.

Do you ever wear strapless dresses?
Yes. I like ’em a lot, as long as I have a comfortable bra. My wedding dress was strapless actually.

Do you know how to sew or otherwise make clothes?
No, but it sounds cool, and I still would like to learn. When I was 14 I did ask for a sewing machine for my birthday, and I actually got one, but I had no idea how to use it. I guess it never occurred to my parents to include lessons or to find somebody to teach me how to sew (there was no such thing as YouTube back then), so it just collected cobwebs in a storage room for years.

Are you wearing anything green today?
Currently, no, but I will once I change out of my pink sweatpants.

Favorite green nail polish, eyeshadow, liner, etc?
Favorite green polish is Chanel Jade, favorite shadow is MAC Greensmoke (or Humid; it’s a tossup) and favorite liner? Urban Decay Stash.

What does your wallet look like?
It’s an obnoxiously bright yellow wallet from Kate Spade, but I love it because I can always find it in my purse.

Did you ever get detention in school?
Maybe once or twice because I was a big ol’ nerd. The only reason I ever got it was for being late to first period.

Have you ever done (or would you ever do) nail art on your toes?
I like it on other people but not on my toes because they are very long. I’ve talked about my freakishly long alien toes before… You do not need to hear any more about them.

Are you planting a garden this year?
I am! We started last weekend by cleaning off the deck, getting (and building) some wooden planter boxes and planting some snapdragons, Gerbera daisies… I got a couple of lavender shrubs, a bunch of tomatoes and, oh! — two bell pepper plants and a purple basil.

And a bunch of catnip, of course.

Have you ever done anything crafty before, like scrapbooking or making candles?
Years ago I took a one-day scrapbooking class. It was fun, but I never really did anything with it after.

And in college I went through a phase where I made beaded necklaces (“She’s making jewelry now.”).

Now it’s your turn. Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em! 🙂

1. Do you have a lucky charm?
2. Do you ever wear strapless dresses?
3. Do you know how to sew or otherwise make clothes?
4. Are you wearing anything green today?
5. Favorite green nail polish, eyeshadow, liner, etc?
6. What does your wallet look like?
7. Did you ever get detention in school?
8. Have you ever done (or would you ever do) nail art on your toes?
9. Are you planting a garden this year?
10. Have you ever done anything crafty before, like scrapbooking or making candles?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Hope you have a wonderful day. Fish and chips for everyone!

Wait — is that English or Irish?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 287

March 16th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

It’s rough for Tabs when it’s sunny like this because he wants to be outside constantly. There’s just so much to do! — like cavort with the new neighborhood kitties (there are two of them) and tend to his deck garden, now freshly planted with snapdragons, Gerbera daisies and catnip, among other plants his human friends find tasty, like tomatoes and sweet pepper.

On Saturday he made a Home Depot run and picked up a few tools and some pieces of lumber.

Yes, he’s multitalented like that. 🙂

Seriously, have you ever seen a cat do carpentry? It’s really quite incredible. He built a table to set his daisies and snapdragons on and a small planter box for cat grass. Later this week he plans to build an improv cat tree from which he’ll be able to survey his dominion. He’s drawing up the plans as we speak…

Tabs loves gardening. It’s how he relaxes after a tough week of kitty modeling. Last week was particularly brutal. He had back-to-back trips to Tokyo and Ireland to shoot ad campaigns for NARS and Benefit, respectively, and then an overnight stay in New York for MAC.

He’s really racking up the frequent flyer miles…

Here are the latest kitty modeling campaigns in his portfolio. Hope you enjoy!

Who is Tabs the Cat?
About seven years ago I befriended a stray, flea-bitten tabby cat with a bad case of worms. I could see he’d fallen on hard times, but his profound knowledge of high fashion and department store cosmetics led me to believe that he was more than meets the eye. We became fast friends, and now he’s actually my boss (and a successful kitty model).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. So much good TV on tonight! Gah! I can’t wait to see what happens on The Walking Dead, and then there’s Cosmos. I have to make a really quick run to Trader Joe’s now, and Tabs needs more dry food from Petco. Must hurry back!

7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

March 15th, 2014 by Karen 382 Comments

Happy caturday, Farmer Tabby! It’s time for the spring planting. 🙂

Rise and shine, morning glory. I hope you slept well.

How are you this morning? I haven’t been up long (yes, the Tabster allowed me to sleep in). I’m just relaxing on the couch with a cup of joe and watching some nonsense on Bravo (what is up with the dudes on Online Dating Rituals of the American Male!? I can’t tell if some of them are faking for the cameras or if they really are that terrible.).

What I really want to do this weekend is start working on my deck garden. Every spring we plant cat-friendly echinacea, zinnia, catnip and some other things Tabs really likes on the back deck, and since he’s primarily an indoor kitty (with frequent outdoor leash walks, of course), it becomes his respite from the great indoors.

Last year the garden became infested with whiteflies, and they basically destroyed everything. I didn’t want to use real-deal pesticides to get rid of them, so I tried some natural things, including earthworm castings and lemon/vinegar sprays, which I’d read about online, but nothing worked (I didn’t try ladybugs, however, which I’d read might do the trick).

Since then I cleaned everything out — every pot, planter and even the wooden deck surface — so hopefully with some brand new soil this year, the flies don’t get a foothold.

Oh! I almost forgot. Last night after Thai food I watched Burlesque on Bravo with Cher and xtina.

Not a great movie at all, but so. much. fun. 🙂

Good luck in this weekend’s giveaway. Talk to you soon.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- Is there still snow on the ground where you live?
- What’s the most flamboyant outfit in your closet?
- Most annoying makeup problem you’re currently facing?
- What’s your pet’s favorite food?
- What’s something you learned how to do on YouTube?
- What’s your favorite Beatles song?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, March 17, 2014 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Because Weekends Are for Hot Pink Lips (and Lip Combos), There’s MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Good Taste

March 14th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

MAC Pro Longwear LIip Pencil in Shock Value, MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Good Taste and Pro Longwear Lipgass in Full Spead Ahead — What’s the quickest way out of a nude lip rut?

The first step to breaking out of a nude lip rut is admitting that you’re in a nude lip rut.

(Note to self: I am in a nude lip rut.)

When all 15 (!) of the lipsticks and glosses in your purse are various shades of nude beige, light peach and pink…you are in a nude lip rut.

I figured the quickest way to break free (“break free, break from the chains!” Shout-out to Wilson Phillips!) was a bright, bold lip — something upbeat. And pink.

Because Fridays were made for pink.

MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Shock Value, MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Good Taste and Pro Longwear Lipglass in Full Speed Ahead

After rutting around in my makeup stash, I came up with this — a bright, shiny pink lip, and it’s all MAC’d out. The star attraction is the new MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Good Taste.

First, I lined my lips with bright pink MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Shock Value, then used a lip brush to fill them in with Good Taste, before topping it off with a layer of bright magenta MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass in Full Speed Ahead.

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An Easy Way To Take Your Winged Liner Looks From Day to Night

March 14th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

MAC Pure Show and NARS Black Valley — Wearing MAC Pure Show Superslick Liquid Eye Liner and NARS Black Valley Eye Paint on my upper lash lines (and trying to look “artsy-fartsy”)

I’m all about the winged liner life…

Ya feel me?

Winged liner, also known as cat liner, is one of my favorite makeup looks (especially in a classic black).

You can wear it pretty much anywhere. Pair it with nude lips to proactively synergize your ROI at work (LOL!), or raise the roof with a bright lip and cheek for a night on the town. The possibilities are endless.

I don’t know if I could ever truly get tired of black winged/cat liner, but I don’t always do it the same way. Sometimes I like to try something a little different, like by incorporating a liner in a different color. I’ll run it along my upper lash line parallel to the liner, like I’m doing with the gold in these pics.

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The Kristin Perry Crystal Cage Ear Cuff Is Not Your Average Bling

March 14th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

So, the ear cuff I wore in the Powell Street MAC Pro store tour and the past couple of Ask MBB vids? — it’s the $16 Kristin Perry Crystal Cage Ear Cuff.

I love that thing! It’s kind of unusual… Not your standard-issue bling.

It’s also surprisingly comfortable. The cuff wraps nicely around my ear (it goes around the right) and doesn’t give me a headache, like some ear cuffs do (very important… I’m not kidding), no matter how long I wear it.

It doesn’t fall off, either — I mean, as long as I’m not doing jumping jacks or jogging. 🙂

I usually like to wear it just like I am in the MAC video, with a small pair of rose gold studs, a long gold necklace and a bracelet.

NOTE: you do have to be a little careful with it because it’s not the sturdiest piece of bling. I had it in a pocket inside my purse last weekend, and one of the crystal rings fell off.

I have to remember to Crazy Glue that back on…